Tell me how you feel about the Patriots (1 Viewer)

[Reaper]

If everyone answers HONESTLY, option # 1 will end up with about three votes

Are you really serious? You are delusional. Pats season ticket holder from 1983-1988 and 1994-1997. The stands werent empty before 2001. There wasnt a 50,000 person waiting list back then but there were fans in the stands.

3 votes was hyperbole. I know there are some longtime supporters out there. And they deserve all the fun and glory the Pats have had recently. You don't doubt now that there are magnitudes more Pats fans now than there were. and I know, championships will do that. But try to find one who will admit that they've hopped on the bandwagon since '01. The numbers indicate there have to be about a kajillion of them, but try to find just one who will say "Yeah, I didn't care much about the Pats until they started winning". good luck.

People tend to forget how dark it was in Foxborough back then and there were totally legit reasons why MANY Patriots fans abandoned the team for a while:

I don't get that common theme.If you Love football.... You have YOUR team and that's that. Now, I see it in NY with the Knicks but, that's basketball and that THE KNICKS.I don't know any Jet fans who abandoned football and their team. While, at times the stadium has been half empty, I guess NY is that much bigger with 2 NFL teams, the Season ticket list was always around a 7-10 year wait.I do sense though that a good % of Pats fans here are younger and weren't even watching much in the 80's-90's and have a lot to do with the "Pat Fan Reputation" around here - they have a bit of a different perspective on things and really avoided the bad years that sometimes do well in shaping a fan and keeping them humble....

 

[Maroney=Speed]

If everyone answers HONESTLY, option # 1 will end up with about three votes.I covered the team for a local radio station in the early 90s, and there were more players than fans in the stands.

Did you see me at you?

 

[Bill Lust]

Everyone has a story about how they froze their tails off at Sullivan Stadium.

That is correct. Considering that the place was sold out from 1994 (when Kraft bought the team and kept it New England) to 2001 (when it closed), there were a lot of fans freezing their tails off.Think about it - that is eight years, a pretty decent amount of time. Imagine how many opportunities you had to "self-collect" data during that period.

 

[Sabertooth]

In all honesty I respect Brady, the oline, and wideouts, I also like Watson and he showed great heart chasing Champ down a few years back...that was something.

The defense strikes me as kind of cheap shotty. Vrabel strikes me as a steroid freak. Wilfork is a scumbag too. I do like Seymour, Bruschi (although his amazing recovery from a stroke is a little puzzling), Samuel, and Warren.

Belicheck is unlikeable and a cheater. He simply is a person I wouldn't trust with my checkbook. Kraft seems ok. Moss is Moss, and I can't fault him for being himself. He seems like a guy that would be pretty good to have as a friend. He is likeable.

Overall I am indifferent on them. I think it's neat that they've won so many games this season but I wish it were the Colts and Dungy instead because they don't strike me as dirty players and I have way more respect for Dungy as a person than Belicheck.

FWIW, I am a Packer backer.

 

[Workhorse]

My favorite Foxboro stadium memory was easily the first play from scrimmage in the 1996 playoffs against the Steelers.

It was so foggy during pre-game and the Pats front office made the shaky decision to set up pre-game fireworks before the kickoff. The smoke mixed with the fog quite nicely to almost totally obscure the playing field from the stands. First play, Bledsoe playaction to Curtis Martin and the bomb down the right sideline...... into the fog....... WHAT??? Terry Glenn caught the ball???????

Nobody in my section had any idea what happened.

 

[GregR_2]

Love the style of play and results, dislike a few of the players (Harrison, Seau), dislike a lot of the fans.

Add "and think they have a coach who is a scumbag of a person" and that's about where I stand. Though I've never had a major problem with Seau that I can recollect.

 

[PatsWillWin]

Everyone has a story about how they froze their tails off at Sullivan Stadium. Love it. They can't even admit they are bandwagon jumpers. Worst fans ever.

toxic waste

 

[the hairy scotsman]

i enjoy domination

heh....

 

[Jason Wood]

I have incredible respect for what they've accomplished, and with my team (Eagles) and Brett Favre out of the hunt, I want to see the Pats go 19-0 and solidify their place in history. I'm also insanely jealous of their success, and wish my team had a fraction of it.

 

[NEUPJ]

don't know any Jet fans who abandoned football and their team. While, at times the stadium has been half empty,

1991 which was the worst year the Patriots have had in Foxboro, they totaled 300,000 fans over 8 games, or 37,500 per game. Foxboro held 60,000 so they were still at 62% capacity. Yes, that is pretty ### #### bad attendance, but the stadium wasn't quite as barron as some here remember. Another factor which played a part in this is, it's tough to follow a team when you can't watch any of their home games on TV since they are blacked out. Yes, it makes die hards go to the stadium to see the game, but it does cut out a lot of the population. My father, myself and my brother used to drive to our grandparents cottege in NH (which had no heat in the winter) to watch the games since they were outside of the DMA. We couldn't afford to go to the games, my father actually had season tickets until 1984, but had to give them up when he had a family.

 

[Tough As Nails]

Not a Pats fan...but Brady is incredibly good and Randy Moss is one of my all-time favorite athletes to watch. I'll definitely be cheering for them to go 19-0.

 

[Dodge]

How bout an option, "Good football team, enjoy watching them play if they're in a good game, and if they're not I'm watching another game."

 

[PsychoMan]

Loyal fan since pre-historic times (before Tom Brady) [ 22 ] [16.30%]

 

[jgb95]

season ticket holder since 1993

 

[Ghost Rider]

Love the style of play and results, dislike a few of the players (Harrison, Seau), dislike a lot of the fans.

I hate the Patriots. I can understand disliking Harrison, Vrabel, etc but what is wrong w/ Seau, guy has been a good player/guy for years, never considered dirty

I have never liked Seau, as he has always annoyed me how he celebrates every tackle like he just made a Super-winning tackle. Sure, having fire and enthusiasm when you are playing is admirable, but he has always been way too animated on the field for my tastes. It reminds me of those safeties that celebrate a great hit even though the receiver picked up a first down with the yardage.

 

[Bad_Mo]

If everyone answers HONESTLY, option # 1 will end up with about three votes

Are you really serious? You are delusional. Pats season ticket holder from 1983-1988 and 1994-1997. The stands werent empty before 2001. There wasnt a 50,000 person waiting list back then but there were fans in the stands.

I concur.I will add that those stands, made of metal, were the worst.

 

[GregR_2]

Love the style of play and results, dislike a few of the players (Harrison, Seau), dislike a lot of the fans.

I hate the Patriots. I can understand disliking Harrison, Vrabel, etc but what is wrong w/ Seau, guy has been a good player/guy for years, never considered dirty

I have never liked Seau, as he has always annoyed me how he celebrates every tackle like he just made a Super-winning tackle. Sure, having fire and enthusiasm when you are playing is admirable, but he has always been way too animated on the field for my tastes. It reminds me of those safeties that celebrate a great hit even though the receiver picked up a first down with the yardage.

To each their own. But if I have to choose between a player like Seau who my recollection is genuinely celebrates the play, vs watching players who are using a play as an excuse for posing and preening for camera time on SportsCenter more than they are actually celebrating the play, I'll take what Seau does hands down.

 

[AB in DC]

don't know any Jet fans who abandoned football and their team. While, at times the stadium has been half empty,

1991 which was the worst year the Patriots have had in Foxboro, they totaled 300,000 fans over 8 games, or 37,500 per game. Foxboro held 60,000 so they were still at 62% capacity. Yes, that is pretty ### #### bad attendance, but the stadium wasn't quite as barron as some here remember. Another factor which played a part in this is, it's tough to follow a team when you can't watch any of their home games on TV since they are blacked out. Yes, it makes die hards go to the stadium to see the game, but it does cut out a lot of the population. My father, myself and my brother used to drive to our grandparents cottege in NH (which had no heat in the winter) to watch the games since they were outside of the DMA. We couldn't afford to go to the games, my father actually had season tickets until 1984, but had to give them up when he had a family.

No need to make excuses -- unlike what certain people here say, you can be a loyal fan without actually showing up in a stadium. I was a fan since I was a kid -- in fact, the first year I started watching their games on TV was the 2-14 year in the early 1980s where they "won" the #1 pick by losing to the then one-win Colts in the final game -- but didn't go to a game until I was much older.

 

[phthalatemagic]

the stadium wasn't quite as barron as some here remember.

I agree. It was more viscount in my opinion.

 

[hitmenssharpshooters]

Love the style of play and results, dislike a few of the players (Harrison, Seau), dislike a lot of the fans.

harrison I can see but Seau?

Besides being the poster boy for celebrating meaningless tackles, there is something else that bothered me personally. Being a Chargers fan, I'm surprised it doesn't bother you ...From Wikipedia..."Seau announced his retirement on August 14th, 2006 after signing a one-day contract with the San Diego Chargers at an emotional press conference. He called his retirement a "graduation", because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life. [3] However, he returned to football just four days later, signing with the Patriots for an undisclosed sum."The Chargers honored his career by organizing an elaborate celebration for his retirement and Seau thanked them by signing with the Pats the same week. Then the Pats promptly knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs two years in a row.

 

[parrot]

Love the style of play and results, dislike a few of the players (Harrison, Seau), dislike a lot of the fans.

harrison I can see but Seau?

Besides being the poster boy for celebrating meaningless tackles, there is something else that bothered me personally. Being a Chargers fan, I'm surprised it doesn't bother you ...From Wikipedia..."Seau announced his retirement on August 14th, 2006 after signing a one-day contract with the San Diego Chargers at an emotional press conference. He called his retirement a "graduation", because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life. [3] However, he returned to football just four days later, signing with the Patriots for an undisclosed sum."The Chargers honored his career by organizing an elaborate celebration for his retirement and Seau thanked them by signing with the Pats the same week. Then the Pats promptly knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs two years in a row.

I don't get the problem here. His retirement from the Chargers was only symbolic because he had spent the last two years with the Dolphins, who had then cut him. Upon learning that a quality team like the Pats wanted him, he decided to come back. This is really dredging bottom for reasons to criticise a guy, IMO.

 

[southeastjerome]

If anyone feels that the "pre-historic times" of the Patriots were "before Tom Brady", then they obviously have not been a fan of the team for too long.

 

[GregR_2]

Love the style of play and results, dislike a few of the players (Harrison, Seau), dislike a lot of the fans.

harrison I can see but Seau?

Besides being the poster boy for celebrating meaningless tackles, there is something else that bothered me personally. Being a Chargers fan, I'm surprised it doesn't bother you ...From Wikipedia..."Seau announced his retirement on August 14th, 2006 after signing a one-day contract with the San Diego Chargers at an emotional press conference. He called his retirement a "graduation", because he was not going to stop working. He contended that he was merely moving on to the next phase of his life. [3] However, he returned to football just four days later, signing with the Patriots for an undisclosed sum."The Chargers honored his career by organizing an elaborate celebration for his retirement and Seau thanked them by signing with the Pats the same week. Then the Pats promptly knocked the Chargers out of the playoffs two years in a row.

I don't get the problem here. His retirement from the Chargers was only symbolic because he had spent the last two years with the Dolphins, who had then cut him. Upon learning that a quality team like the Pats wanted him, he decided to come back. This is really dredging bottom for reasons to criticise a guy, IMO.

I agree. If I was a Chargers fan I'd be happy he's got a shot at a ring, even if I didn't care for the team he'd be winning it with.